The Devil's Ex

Chapter Four - Scorched

She sunk into the uncomfortable bed and sighed. Resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, she took a moment to breath deeply and try to collect her thoughts. The metal box sat like an anchor beside her. She wasn't quite ready to look at its contents yet, plus she needed to rest before trying to break the spell bind. Rubbing her eyes with her palms, she stood and began to pace the room. Anxiety clawed at her skin as reality began to sink in. Whatever Luca had got her wrapped up in was likely to kill her, it had already cost her her house and no doubt the life she'd built for herself. Now she was being hunted by something, and to her eternal annoyance, she had no idea what. Frustration ticked at the back of her mind. She needed answers, but first, first she needed rest.

Past events flashed before her as she tried to sleep, her body shattered but her mind alive. Images she'd ignored for centuries; memories she pretended not to own, lingered near the surface of her mind. It was like watching a movie of somebody else's life. Things she barely even realised had happened to her, reappeared in her mind, as guilt she hadn't ever truly processed washed over her in waves. Beneath it all was something worse than guilt. Something she refused to acknowledge, regret.

She woke on a breath, her chest constricting, tears sliding down her face. Her laboured breathing shattered the silence of the night. She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep, or what time it was now, but Jenny knew that her dreams hadn't been much better than her thoughts when she was awake.

She groaned and slowly rolled over, placing her boots on the floor. She spared a quick, guilty glance at the state of the bed sheets. Admittedly, she should probably have showered, or at least removed her boots before she got into bed.

Standing, she stretched her hands above her head and moved towards the window. Dawn was on the horizon, the sun about to break from behind the trees in the distance. Moving towards the box that she'd abandoned the night before, Jenny took a deep breath, this was going to hurt.

Using her power to extend the nail on her index finger, she sliced into her palm and thrust her bleeding hand onto the spell bind. Chanting words she'd learnt as a child, and some that had been whispered to her by her ancestors, Jenny used the power she was born with to remove the spell. Fire burned in her hand and quickly shot up her arm and across her heart. Her head fell back, her eyes rolling into her skull. Her mouth opened wide and a silent scream fell from her lips.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain subsided and the spell released, a low pressure wave expanding across the room, as the box clattered to the table with a loud thud. Jenny stretched her neck out, as she healed her palm. She'd forgotten what a bitch those spell binds could be - it explains why she didn't tend to use them anymore. Discarding the rusty padlock that was there for appearance more than anything, she flipped the lid up and open, before staring at the contents, not yet able to go any further.

Knowing she needed to get herself together, no one was going to do this for her, she began pulling items out of the box. She placed the folded paper and faded photos to the side, definitely not in the mood to look at those yet. She eyed the amulet she'd inherited from her mother, the power in it called to her. Jenny's mother hadn't exactly been an upstanding member of the wiccan community, but she had been a damn powerful woman. It's no wonder that Jenny followed in her footsteps.

Picking through the trinkets and belongings that she'd accumulated over the centuries of her life, she paused as she spotted the item she was searching for. As she reached down to get it, she caught her finger on something, swearing at the burning pain that shot through her hand. Anger building within her, she dug through until she spotted the item that had served her skin, before growling in annoyance.

Carefully she plucked the gold ring from its resting place, careful to avoid the two small spikes that carried poison - lethal to everyone but her, and the person who gave her the ring. A million memories ran through her mind as she turned the ring over in the hand, the heavy, red jewel glinting off of the breaking sun. The inscription seemed to glow in the morning light. She blinked heavy eyes, surprised at how much pain the memories were causing her.

Long ago she'd loved a man, a man she'd ruled a world with. Yet, as per usual, his lust for power outweighed his love for her, and soon enough she'd had her fill of always being second best. Leaving him, leaving him had been the hardest thing she'd ever done. So hard in fact, that she hadn't exactly managed to stay away. It was here, in this very hotel that they'd met so many times, stealing time away with each other. During those stolen moments, it was easy to pretend that everything was fine, that they were happy, in love and unburdened. Yet when they parted ways, reality came rushing back and it became harder and harder, until she couldn't bare the pain of it anymore.

A noise outside her door pulled her attention. With a flick of her wrist, the contents were back in the box, as she dove behind the door and waited, breath hitched in her throat. Footsteps echoed along the corridor outside, her heart seemed to fall into rhythm with each step, as panic tried to choke her.

Bringing her power to her finger tips, she waited, waited for whatever was going to come through the door. The footsteps paused right outside, a shadow falling on the floor. Well that ruled out some of the beasts she'd encountered in the past, not everyone had a shadow.

She held her head near the door, listening for the person's breath. That would tell her much as well - if they breathed or not. A loud knock sent her skittering backwards, as dread filled her veins. What creature would be sick enough to knock before they killed her?

Slowly she neared the door again, and took a deep breath. She could do this. No matter what was on the other side of this door, she could cope with it. Sure, it had been a while since she'd been in a battle, but she still went running. Sometimes. Okay, so not that often, but she walked to work, so that counted, right? Besides - she had magic on her side. Magic that wouldn't fail her, she hoped. Though it had been a while since she'd used any form of battle magic, she still remembered the basics.

Ignoring the slight tremor in her hand as she reached forwards for the lock, and slowly pulled the door open, her breath catching in her throat at the familiar face on the other side.